1999–2000 Football League

101st season of the Football League
Football league season
The Football League
Season1999–2000
ChampionsCharlton Athletic
PromotedCharlton Athletic
Manchester City
Ipswich Town
RelegatedChester City
New Club in LeagueCheltenham Town
← 1998–99
2000–01 →

The 1999–2000 Football League (known as the Nationwide Football League for sponsorship reasons) was the 101st completed season of The Football League.

The 1999–2000 season saw the league dispense with the traditional 1–11 numbering of players’ shirts in favour of squad numbers, a system that had been adopted by the Premier League a few seasons before. This also meant that players’ names appeared on the back of their shirts for the first time since the league’s inception.[1]

The three promotion places in Division One went to champions Charlton Athletic, runners-up Manchester City and playoff winners Ipswich Town.

1999–2000 also saw some of Division One’s biggest clubs miss out on promotion — the biggest of these were Blackburn Rovers (11th) and Nottingham Forest (14th). Steve Coppell ended his fourth spell as Crystal Palace manager after doing wonders to keep a virtually bankrupt club clear of the Division One relegation zone.

Going down were Walsall, Port Vale and Swindon Town. West Bromwich Albion just missed out on the drop zone thanks to a late turn-around in form during the final weeks of the season which followed the appointment of Gary Megson as manager.

David Moyes, 37, showed promise as one of the league’s most highly rated young managers after he guided Preston North End to the Division Two championship. Stan Ternent’s two-year rebuilding project at Burnley paid off as they finished runners-up in the division and would establish themselves as a second tier side for nine years until promotion to the Premier League happened at the end of the 2008–09 season. Joining them in Division One were Peter Taylor’s Gillingham, who had reached the upper half of the league for the first time in their history.

Going down were Cardiff City, Blackpool, Scunthorpe United and Chesterfield. Narrowly avoiding the drop were Oxford United, who struggled all season long despite the club’s financial crisis being eased by the arrival of new Tanzanian chairman Firoz Kassam.

Swansea City, Rotherham United, Northampton Town and Peterborough United occupied the four promotion places in Division Three.

Chester City were relegated on the last day of the season, ending their 69-year league career and would be relegated from the League again nine years later while Shrewsbury Town and Carlisle United saved themselves from Conference football.

First Division

Football league season
First Division
Season1999–2000
ChampionsCharlton Athletic
PromotedCharlton Athletic
Manchester City
Ipswich Town
RelegatedWalsall
Port Vale
Swindon Town
Matches played552
Goals scored1,391 (2.52 per match)
Top goalscorerAndy Hunt
(24 goals)[2]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Charlton Athletic (C, P) 46 27 10 9 79 45 +34 91 Promotion to the Premier League
2 Manchester City (P) 46 26 11 9 78 40 +38 89
3 Ipswich Town (O, P) 46 25 12 9 71 42 +29 87 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
4 Barnsley 46 24 10 12 88 67 +21 82
5 Birmingham City 46 22 11 13 65 44 +21 77
6 Bolton Wanderers 46 21 13 12 69 50 +19 76
7 Wolverhampton Wanderers 46 21 11 14 64 48 +16 74
8 Huddersfield Town 46 21 11 14 62 49 +13 74
9 Fulham 46 17 16 13 49 41 +8 67
10 Queens Park Rangers 46 16 18 12 62 53 +9 66
11 Blackburn Rovers 46 15 17 14 55 51 +4 62
12 Norwich City 46 14 15 17 45 50 −5 57
13 Tranmere Rovers 46 15 12 19 57 68 −11 57
14 Nottingham Forest 46 14 14 18 53 55 −2 56
15 Crystal Palace 46 13 15 18 57 67 −10 54
16 Sheffield United 46 13 15 18 59 71 −12 54
17 Stockport County 46 13 15 18 55 67 −12 54
18 Portsmouth 46 13 12 21 55 66 −11 51
19 Crewe Alexandra 46 14 9 23 46 67 −21 51
20 Grimsby Town 46 13 12 21 41 67 −26 51
21 West Bromwich Albion 46 10 19 17 43 60 −17 49
22 Walsall (R) 46 11 13 22 52 77 −25 46 Relegation to the Second Division
23 Port Vale (R) 46 7 15 24 48 69 −21 36
24 Swindon Town (R) 46 8 12 26 38 77 −39 36
Source:[citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Location of clubs

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Football League First Division London teams 1999–2000

Play-offs

Semifinals
1st leg – May 13th/14th;
2nd leg – May 17th/18th, 2000
Final at Wembley
May 29th, 2000
        
3rd Ipswich Town (a.e.t.) 2 5 7
6th Bolton Wanderers 2 3 5
3rd Ipswich Town 4
4th Barnsley 2
4th Barnsley 4 1 5
5th Birmingham City 0 2 2

[3]

Results

Home \ Away BAR BIR BLB BOL CHA CRE CRY FUL GRI HUD IPS MCI NWC NOT PTV POR QPR SHU STP SWI TRA WAL WBA WOL
Barnsley 2–1 5–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 2–3 1–0 3–0 4–2 0–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–1 6–0 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–0 3–2 2–2 1–2
Birmingham City 3–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 5–1 2–0 2–2 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–1 4–2 1–0 2–0 0–2 2–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–1 1–0
Blackburn Rovers 1–2 1–0 3–1 1–1 0–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 1–4 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–2 5–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 1–1
Bolton Wanderers 2–2 3–3 3–1 0–2 2–2 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 3–2 2–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–3 4–3 1–1 2–1
Charlton Athletic 3–1 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 4–0 0–1 1–3 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 1–0 4–0 0–1 3–2 2–1 0–0 2–0
Crewe Alexandra 0–1 2–3 0–0 1–3 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–3 2–1 1–3 2–1 1–0 3–2 2–1 0–2 2–3 2–0 1–0
Crystal Palace 0–2 0–2 2–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 3–0 2–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 4–0 3–0 1–1 3–3 1–2 2–2 3–2 0–2 1–1
Fulham 1–3 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 3–0 1–0 0–1 3–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–0 1–0 4–0 4–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–1
Grimsby Town 0–3 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–5 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–1 4–3 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 1–0
Huddersfield Town 2–1 0–0 3–2 0–3 1–2 3–0 7–1 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–2 0–1 1–0 4–1 0–2 4–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0
Ipswich Town 6–1 0–1 0–0 1–0 4–2 2–1 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–2 3–1 3–0 0–1 1–4 1–1 1–0 3–0 0–0 2–0 3–1 1–0
Manchester City 3–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 4–0 2–1 4–0 2–1 0–1 1–0 3–1 1–0 2–1 4–2 1–3 6–0 1–2 3–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–1
Norwich City 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–1 0–3 2–1 0–1 1–2 3–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–0
Nottingham Forest 3–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–0 0–0 2–1 1–3 0–1 1–3 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 3–1 1–1 4–1 0–0 1–1
Port Vale 2–2 3–1 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 2–2 0–2 3–1 1–2 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 2–3 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–2 1–2 0–1
Portsmouth 3–0 2–2 1–2 0–0 0–2 0–2 3–1 0–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 2–2 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–3 2–0 2–0 4–1 1–2 5–1 2–0 2–3
Queens Park Rangers 2–2 2–2 0–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–0 3–1 3–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 3–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1
Sheffield United 3–3 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–1 3–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 0–0 2–1 1–3 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 3–1 1–1 6–0 3–0
Stockport County 1–3 2–0 0–1 0–0 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 2–2 2–3 1–0 1–1 3–3 1–1 3–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 3–2
Swindon Town 1–2 1–4 2–1 0–4 1–2 0–1 2–4 1–0 0–1 2–0 1–4 0–2 0–0 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 3–1 1–1 1–2 1–2
Tranmere Rovers 2–2 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–2 2–0 1–2 1–1 3–2 1–0 0–2 1–1 1–2 3–0 2–1 2–4 1–1 1–3 0–0 3–1 1–1 3–0 1–0
Walsall 1–4 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–4 1–4 2–2 1–3 1–0 2–0 0–1 0–1 2–2 0–2 0–0 1–0 2–3 2–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1
West Bromwich Albion 0–2 0–3 2–2 4–4 2–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–2 0–1 2–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 2–3 2–0 2–1 3–0 3–0 0–1 2–1 4–1 1–0 3–0 2–2 1–1 3–2 1–0 2–2 1–1 4–0 1–2 1–1
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Second Division

Football league season
Football League, Second Division
Season1999–2000
ChampionsPreston North End (2nd third tier title)
PromotedPreston North End,
Burnley
Promoted via play-offsGillingham
RelegatedBlackpool,
Cardiff City,
Chesterfield,
Scunthorpe United
Matches played552
Goals scored1,404 (2.54 per match)
Top goalscorerAndy Payton (Burnley), 27 [2]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Preston North End (C, P) 46 15 4 4 37 23 13 7 3 37 14 +37 95 Division Champions, promoted
2 Burnley (P) 46 16 3 4 42 23 9 10 4 27 24 +22 88 Promoted
3 Gillingham (O, P) 46 16 3 4 46 21 9 7 7 33 27 +31 85 Promoted through play-offs
4 Wigan Athletic 46 15 3 5 37 14 7 14 2 35 24 +34 83 Participated in play-offs
5 Millwall 46 14 7 2 41 18 9 6 8 35 32 +26 82
6 Stoke City 46 13 7 3 37 18 10 6 7 31 24 +26 82
7 Bristol Rovers 46 13 7 3 34 19 10 4 9 35 26 +24 80
8 Notts County 46 9 6 8 32 27 9 5 9 29 28 +6 65
9 Bristol City 46 7 14 2 31 18 8 5 10 28 39 +2 64
10 Reading 46 10 9 4 28 18 6 5 12 29 45 −6 62
11 Wrexham 46 9 6 8 23 24 8 5 10 29 37 −9 62
12 Wycombe Wanderers 46 11 4 8 32 24 5 9 9 24 29 +3 61
13 Luton Town 46 10 7 6 41 35 7 3 13 20 30 −4 61
14 Oldham Athletic 46 8 5 10 27 28 8 7 8 23 27 −5 60
15 Bury 46 8 10 5 38 33 5 8 10 23 31 −3 57
16 Bournemouth 46 11 6 6 37 19 5 3 15 22 43 −3 57
17 Brentford 46 8 6 9 27 31 5 7 11 20 30 −14 52
18 Colchester United 46 9 4 10 36 40 5 6 12 23 42 −23 52
19 Cambridge United 46 8 6 9 38 33 4 6 13 26 32 −1 48
20 Oxford United 46 6 5 12 24 38 6 4 13 19 35 −30 45
21 Cardiff City (R) 46 5 10 8 23 34 4 7 12 22 33 −22 44 Relegated
22 Blackpool (R) 46 4 10 9 26 37 4 7 12 23 40 −28 41
23 Scunthorpe United (R) 46 4 6 13 16 34 5 6 12 24 40 −34 39
24 Chesterfield (R) 46 5 7 11 17 25 2 8 13 17 38 −29 36
Source: [3]
Rules for classification: In the Football League goals scored (GF) takes precedence over goal difference (GD).
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Location of clubs

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Football League Second Division London teams 1999–2000

Play-offs

Semifinals
1st leg – May 13th; 2nd leg – May 17th, 2000
Final at Wembley Stadium
May 28th, 2000
        
3rd Gillingham 2 3 5
6th Stoke City 3 0 3
3rd Gillingham (a.e.t.) 3
4th Wigan Athletic 2
4th Wigan Athletic 0 1 1
5th Millwall 0 0 0

[3]

Results

Home \ Away BLP BOU BRE BRC BRR BUR BRY CAM CAR CHF COL GIL LUT MIL NTC OLD OXF PNE REA SCU STO WIG WRE WYC
Blackpool 0–0 0–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–5 2–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 1–1 3–3 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–2 0–2 1–2 2–2 2–1 1–2
Bournemouth 2–0 4–1 2–3 0–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 4–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–0 4–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–0
Brentford 2–0 0–2 2–1 0–3 2–3 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 2–0 1–3 0–2 2–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 4–3 0–1 0–2 0–2 0–0
Bristol City 5–2 3–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–2 3–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 4–0 0–0
Bristol Rovers 3–1 2–2 0–0 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 3–1 2–1 2–1 3–0 1–0 0–1 3–2 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 3–3 1–1 3–1 1–0
Burnley 1–0 2–1 2–2 2–0 1–0 2–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 3–0 0–3 0–2 4–3 2–1 3–0 3–2 0–3 3–0 1–2 1–0 0–0 5–0 1–0
Bury 3–2 2–2 2–2 0–0 0–0 4–2 0–2 3–2 1–1 5–2 2–1 1–0 2–2 1–3 2–2 1–2 1–3 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–2 0–2 2–0
Cambridge United 0–2 0–2 2–2 3–0 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 5–2 2–2 3–1 0–2 1–1 2–3 2–0 2–0 3–1 1–3 1–3 1–1 3–4 1–2
Cardiff City 1–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 0–2 0–4 2–1 3–2 1–2 1–3 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–4 1–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 2–2
Chesterfield 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 0–1 4–2 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–3 2–0 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–3 1–2
Colchester United 1–1 3–1 0–3 3–4 5–4 1–2 1–3 3–1 0–3 1–0 2–1 3–0 1–2 0–3 0–1 1–2 2–2 3–2 0–1 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–0
Gillingham 1–3 4–1 2–0 3–0 0–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 4–1 1–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–0 0–2 2–2 3–1 3–0 2–1 5–1 2–2
Luton Town 3–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–4 2–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 3–2 3–1 0–2 2–2 1–1 4–2 0–2 3–1 4–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–1
Millwall 1–1 3–1 3–2 4–1 3–0 1–1 3–0 2–1 2–0 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–2 5–0 1–2 1–0 3–3 0–0 1–1
Notts County 2–1 5–1 0–1 4–4 0–2 2–0 2–2 2–3 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–2 3–0 0–0 0–2 2–1 2–1
Oldham Athletic 1–1 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–4 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–3 2–1 2–1 1–2 2–0 0–1 1–2 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 2–2
Oxford United 0–1 1–0 1–1 3–0 0–5 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–3 2–1 1–1 1–2 0–1 1–3 2–3 1–0 0–4 1–3 2–0 1–1 1–2 1–4 0–0
Preston North End 3–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 0–0 0–2 2–3 0–2 1–0 3–2 2–0 2–0 3–1 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–4 1–0 3–2
Reading 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 0–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–0 2–2 1–2 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–0 0–2 2–2 2–1
Scunthorpe United 1–0 3–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 1–2 0–2 0–3 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–4 1–2 1–4 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 1–2 0–2 0–1
Stoke City 3–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–2 2–2 3–0 1–0 2–1 5–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–1 0–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–1
Wigan Athletic 5–1 3–1 1–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 3–0 0–1 2–0 1–0 1–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 3–0 1–2 0–1 2–1
Wrexham 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–1 2–3 0–3 1–0 0–0 0–1 3–1 2–3 1–1 1–3
Wycombe Wanderers 0–2 2–1 2–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 1–0 3–1 3–0 3–0 1–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 0–1 1–1 5–3 2–1 0–4 0–2 0–1
Source:[citation needed]
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Third Division

Football league season
Football League, Third Division
Season1999–2000
ChampionsSwansea City (1st fourth tier title)
Direct promotionSwansea City,
Northampton,
Rotherham United
Promoted through play-offsPeterborough United
Relegated to ConferenceChester
Matches played552
Goals scored1,303 (2.36 per match)
Top goalscorerMarco Gabbiadini (Darlington), 24 [2]

Pos Team Pld HW HD HL HGF HGA AW AD AL AGF AGA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Swansea City (C, P) 46 15 6 2 32 11 9 7 7 19 19 +21 85 Division Champions, promoted
2 Rotherham United (P) 46 13 5 5 43 17 11 7 5 29 19 +36 84 Promoted
3 Northampton Town (P) 46 16 2 5 36 18 9 5 9 27 27 +18 82
4 Darlington 46 13 9 1 43 15 8 7 8 23 21 +30 79 Participated in play-offs
5 Peterborough United (O, P) 46 14 4 5 39 30 8 8 7 24 24 +9 78 Promoted through play-offs
6 Barnet 46 12 6 5 36 24 9 6 8 23 29 +6 75 Participated in play-offs
7 Hartlepool United 46 16 1 6 32 17 5 8 10 28 32 +11 72
8 Cheltenham Town[a] 46 13 4 6 28 17 7 6 10 22 25 +8 70
9 Torquay United 46 12 6 5 35 20 7 6 10 27 32 +10 69
10 Rochdale 46 8 7 8 21 25 10 7 6 36 29 +3 68
11 Brighton & Hove Albion 46 10 7 6 38 25 7 9 7 26 21 +18 67
12 Plymouth Argyle 46 12 10 1 38 18 4 8 11 17 33 +4 66
13 Macclesfield Town 46 9 7 7 36 30 9 4 10 30 31 +5 65
14 Hull City 46 7 8 8 26 23 8 6 9 17 20 0 59
15 Lincoln City 46 11 6 6 38 23 4 8 11 29 46 −2 59
16 Southend United 46 11 5 7 37 31 4 6 13 16 30 −8 56
17 Mansfield Town 46 9 6 8 33 26 7 2 14 17 39 −15 56
18 Halifax Town 46 7 5 11 22 24 8 4 11 22 34 −14 54
19 Leyton Orient 46 7 7 9 22 22 6 6 11 25 30 −5 52
20 York City 46 7 10 6 21 21 5 6 12 18 32 −14 52
21 Exeter City 46 8 6 9 27 30 3 5 15 19 42 −26 44
22 Shrewsbury Town 46 5 6 12 20 27 4 7 12 20 40 −27 40
23 Carlisle United 46 6 8 9 23 27 3 4 16 19 48 −33 39
24 Chester City (R) 46 5 5 13 20 36 5 4 14 24 43 −35 39 Relegated to Conference
Source: [3]
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ New club in the league

Locations of clubs

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the Football League Third Division London teams 1999–2000

Play-offs

Semifinals
1st leg – May 13th; 2nd leg – May 17th, 2000
Final at Wembley Stadium
May 26th, 2000
        
4th Darlington 2 1 3
7th Hartlepool United 0 0 0
4th Darlington 0
5th Peterborough United 1
5th Peterborough United 2 3 5
6th Barnet 1 0 1

[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Put your shirt on squad numbers next season". Lancashire Telegraph. Newsquest Media Group Ltd. 9 April 1999. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2008.
  2. ^ a b c "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  3. ^ a b c d e "England 1999–00". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
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